These Are the Chocolate Brands People Can’t Stop Talking About on Social

Nutella and Nestlé face off

Oreo is the most talked-about chocolate brand in the world on social media, followed by Nutella, M&M's, Starbucks and Cadbury.

That's just one of the tasty tidbits in an exhaustive study by analytics firm NetBase, which based its findings on more than 150 million conversations across social networks, news and review sites, blogs and other online forums.

"Understanding the way that consumers interact with a brand or product is key for maintaining that emotional connection," said Pernille Bruun-Jensen, chief marketing officer at NetBase. "Social data offers a wealth of insight that can help brands understand their target market and what influences them."

Oreo and Nutella enjoyed an especially strong showing, generating as much social buzz as the other eight top brands combined. Here's a look at the top 10 chocolate-related brands worldwide, by total mentions from Feb. 1, 2014, to Jan. 31, 2015:

Some of the findings weren't particularly surprising. Such as: Overall, consumer sentiment about chocolate was positive in 82 percent of the social conversations analyzed by NetBase. (Those other 18 percent clearly need a cup of cocoa!) It's also a no-brainer that conversations about chocolate tend to peak around Valentine's Day. Women accounted for 75 percent of that discourse.

Though not included in the study, NetBase also compiled a ranking of the top U.S. candy bars. M&M's—not a candy bar, really—earned the most mentions. In fact, it led in every state except for Arkansas, where overall No. 3 candy-bar brand Snickers really satisfied. (In case you were wondering, Washington, D.C., is the most chocoholic area in the country, placing ahead of New York and Nevada.) Here are the top 10 U.S. candy bars, by total mentions from Feb. 1, 2014 to Jan. 31, 2015: